FEED THE KIDS BILL DEFERRED TILL 10 JULY

Posted on May 14, 2013 by admin in Feed the Kids, Hone Harawira, Press Releases

“I’m grateful for the decision to defer the first reading of my Feed the Kids Bill until 10 July” said MANA leader and MP for Tai Tokerau, Hone Harawira.

“I’ve got a lot on over the next few weeks and the postponement means I can do justice to all my electorate activities and party leader responsibilities including the by-election in Ikaroa Rawhiti, as well as ensure the bill is given the promotion that it deserves”.

“It also gives me more time to persuade ACT, United Future, and National MPs that the Bill deserves to go to Select Committee.”

“Government recognises the need for food in schools programmes, and they clearly support the need for a public discussion on how best to run them here in Aotearoa. What I’m asking is simple: that they support the Bill at first reading so select committee can hear from experts and interested members of the public.”

“I am hugely grateful to those organisations involved in the ‘Community Campaign for Food in Schools’ for their support, and the NZ Food & Grocery Council for all their help as well. I am also grateful to Labour, Greens, NZ First, Maori Party, and Brendan Horan. I urge everyone to keep the focus on the main prize – feeding the kids.”

“I hear the Budget may include funding for a food-in-schools programme in conjunction with businesses, and that’s good, but feeding the kids should not have to rely on charity.”

“I agree with those commentators who say that the health and wellbeing of our children is primarily the responsibility of parents and communities, but where there are gaps created by economic decisions made at government level, then government must take up the responsibility until families and communities are capable of picking things up again.”

“And right now those gaps are simply too big for families to cope with. The Children’s Commissioner’s Expert Advisory Group (EAG) on Solutions to Child Poverty estimated the economic cost of child poverty to be $6-8billion a year and said that around 270,000 NZ children were living in poverty.”

“The problem is beyond the ability of individual families to deal with, and requires a structured governmental approach to eliminating poverty and enabling whanau to reclaim control of their lives. And while all that’s being sorted out my Feed the Kids Bill will make sure that the kids don’t go hungry”.

“As the EAG pointed out, we need to spend in the short-term to prevent the longer-term negative impacts of child poverty – especially in terms of health and education impacts”.

“We have the time to change things now. I hope we have the courage.”

ENDS

For further information please contact Malcolm Mulholland on 027 765 6380

Organisations supporting the Feed the Kids Bill:

• Anglican Church
• Auckland Action Against Poverty
• Barnardos
• Caritas Aotearoa NZ
• Child Poverty Action Group
• CTU Rūnanga
• Every Child Counts
• IHC
• Methodist Church
• NZ Educational Institute
• NZ Nurses’ Organisation
• NZ Principals’ Federation
• Plunket
• Poverty Action Waikato
• PPTA
• Quality Public Education Coalition (QPEC)
• Salvation Army
• Save the Children
• Te ORA (Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa): Māori Medical Practitioners’ Association
• Te Rōpū Wāhine Māori Toko i te Ora (Māori Women’s Welfare League)
• Te Waka Huia Māori Cultural Group
• Tertiary Education Union
• The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners
• Unicef NZ
• Women’s Refuge